Ait M'hamed Day 15
It was a beautiful birthday despite the rough night throwing up- can't seem to shake this bug. Met Touda with Abdellatif and conducted interviews in her douar- Atara. One of the women we spoke with was the one collecting lefst and touga with me in Zahara’s field (she is Zahara’s mother). Another with women spinning string for a rug. One of the women brought up an ahendir she wove (winter shawls for women) and put it on me- they are quite beautiful decorated with and warm. After we walked to Hussain’s father’s field and I did some plant surveys in the timzine. Was finally a clear sunny day so I got some really beautiful pictures. We then got to interview the other man collecting touga in his field while watching the sheep graze. The two we had watched being birthed at Hassan’s house were there their coats still white and unstained. The two men with Abdellatif were discussing different climates that each type of sheep is best for. Apparently the white ones with black on their heads are best for hot climates, and tend to be in warmer cities, and the ones with brown on their heads are better for cold and warm climates- but cope with cold and get less skinny than the others in winter. But the black ones are cheaper so people in colder regions of the high atlas have them too, like here in Ait M’hamed. Also the sheep from this region fetch higher market prices since the ones in and near cities don’t have as many wild plants to eat, sometimes grazing garbage.
Next we spoke with the carpenter about making me a frame so I can conduct my quadrat surveys more easily, so thankful Abdellatif could ask for me- the strings and stakes can be a pain to try and form squares that stay in place. Took a walk in the evening to pass the time before iftar and look at more plants. On the way I noticed a lot of very young girls and one boy collecting cans and tin objects from the trash mixed in with the soil paths and rock on the slope down to the village centre. There was a car that many were flocked around so I’m wondering if they were collecting for money or to help the men collecting. Was rather chilly but still beautiful to walk in the rocky forest above the river. And it was amazingly void of dogs, maybe they don’t like being in so many trees- easier to see their competitors in the rocky scrubland adjacent. Also noticed quite a lot of people grazing or bringing in their herds in the hills by the river. The conifers have an amazing resin smell and I took some crystallised sap to smell.